


Growing Darkness

by spookimew



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Major Original Character(s), Original Cat Clans (Warriors), Original Character Death(s), Original Character-centric, POV Original Character, StarClan (Warriors)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28522317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookimew/pseuds/spookimew
Summary: When three Clans, RavineClan, MistClan, and SunClan, have their connection to StarClan almost completely severed, tensions run high and they’ll do anything to get them back. But is that what’s best for the Clans? Or should they stay disconnected from their ancestors for good? Is StarClan really doing what’s best for the Clans, or are they doing what’s best for their personal gain? As the nights get longer and the days get shorter with the growing leaf bare, the Clans begin to wonder if the stars are getting farther and farther away as well.
Kudos: 1





	Growing Darkness

Lightningpaw bounded down the slope leading to the medicine cat’s gathering place, his black paws thundering against the soft, snowy ground as Honeydawn raced after him. She tried her best to keep up with Lightningpaw, but being in SunClan’s medicine den all day, she hadn’t exactly gotten much exercise. ‘Maybe that’s why they named him Lightningpaw. His running sounds almost like rolling thunder. Good thing he won’t be needing to hunt prey anytime soon,’ she thought as she finally catched up to him.  


The river shone brightly with the setting sun, turning the water from icy blue to pale pink to deep violet. Paledapple and Snowspark were both already there, and from the look of things, they’d heard SunClan’s medicine cats coming.  
“Well, Honeydawn, I’d ask if this is your new apprentice, but he runs so fast I’m almost convinced you’ve chased a rabbit here,” Snowspark chuckled.  
Out of breath and panting, Honeydawn finally sat beside the river across from Snowspark. After catching her breath for a moment, she managed a reply, “Yes, this is Lightningpaw. He became my apprentice just yesterday, and as you can tell he’s very excited.”  


Lightningpaw beamed, greeting the two other medicine cats. “Hi! You must be Snowspark and Paledapple, right? Honeydawn’s told me so much about you! What’s it like when we talk to StarClan? Do they really talk to you in your dreams? Will they tell me anything important? What if-”  


Honeydawn placed a golden paw over Lightningpaw’s muzzle and snickered. “Lightningpaw, please calm yourself! I’ll teach you everything there is to know, I promise.” Snowspark and Paledapple shared a glance and chuckled. Paledapple was thankful she wouldn’t need to worry about having an apprentice anytime soon.  
Snowspark glanced at the darkening sky as the moon slowly rose over the trees. “MistClan is doing well. Mottlenight had her kits recently and they’ve been quite the pawful: Valleykit, Spottedkit, Amberkit, and Twistkit. I think Valleykit is interested in medicine, but I’m not sure if that’s because I keep letting her play with some of the extra moss I have or because she really wants to be a medicine cat.”  
Paledapple laughed. “Maybe we’ll have two eager apprentices here with us soon. RavineClan is also doing well. The medicine hollow flooded recently, but Smokebreeze and, funnily enough, Floodpaw helped me patch it all up.”  
Honeydawn nodded. “That’s good, Paledapple. If there were any herbs that were destroyed by the flood you’re more than welcome to have some of SunClan’s. Aside from Lightningpaw becoming my apprentice, I have no news. I’m glad to hear RavineClan and MistClan are both doing well.”  


“Shall we begin, then?” Snowspark asked, nodding to the flowing river which had turned dark blue with the rising moon.  
Paledapple and Honeydawn nodded. “Now Lightningpaw, if StarClan happens to share anything with you, it’s a medicine cat’s job to try to listen to them. Tell me if they show you anything.”  
Lightningpaw nodded and touched his nose to the icy water. A chill ran up his spine at how cold it was, and when nothing happened after a moment, he peeked open an eye.  
Instead of the riverbanks with the other medicine cats, he found himself standing on a field of sparkling, starry grass. When Lightningpaw tried to glance around, a fluffy ginger tom, fur speckled with stars appeared in front of him. “Hello, Lightningpaw,” he purred.  


“Who are you?” Lightningpaw asked in awe, staring wide-eyed at the fluffy warrior.  


“My name is Jaggedstream, it’s good to finally meet you. I was SunClan’s first medicine cat, and I first discovered the Moonstream. Whenever SunClan gains a new medicine cat apprentice, I’m here to greet them at their first Moonstream Meeting.”  


Lightningpaw nodded excitedly. “Oh, wow! It’s so amazing to get to talk to you, Jaggedstream!”  


Lightningpaw talked with Jaggedstream for a while until Jaggedstream nudged him. “The others are waking up. You should be leaving soon, Lightningpaw. I won’t be able to directly talk to you like this for a while, if ever, but I appreciate the time I got to spend with you.”  


Lightningpaw nodded. “It was great to meet you, Jaggedstream.”  


Lightningpaw could barely get the sentence out before he was waking up back at the Moonstream. His nose tingled from the cold water.  


After the full medicine cats briefly shared their dreams, Honeydawn and Lightningpaw said their goodbyes to the others. As they started up the steep hill leading away from the Moonstream, Honeydawn noticed how sluggish Lightningpaw seemed.  


“Is something wrong, Lightningpaw? Did StarClan share anything important with you?” She asked, resting her tail against his shoulder.  


“No, but I got to meet a cat named Jaggedstream. I’m just tired after talking to him for so long.” Lightningpaw said with a smile.  


The fur along Honeydawn’s spine bristled. “What did he tell you?” She asked him, a hint of urgency in her voice.  


“Well, he told me he was SunClan’s first medicine cat and he was the one to discover the Moonstream. He said he always visits new SunClan medicine cats at their first Moonstream meeting,” Lightningpaw explained. “Is something wrong?”  


Honeydawn shook her head to clear her mind and kept walking through the tall grass. “I’ll tell you when we get back to camp. He’s… not what he seems.”  


Lightningpaw nodded and followed Honeydawn back to camp in silence. When they both reached the medicine den, Honeydawn sighed.  


“Jaggedstream was SunClan’s first medicine cat, yes, and he did discover the Moonstream, but he isn’t nearly as good of a cat as you seem to think he is,” Honeydawn explained in a low voice. “When he first discovered the Moonstream and its ability to connect us to our ancestors, he believed they were trying to harm us. They told him that Sunstar was going to die soon, and there’d be nothing Jaggedstream could do about it. Jaggedstream believed StarClan was going to kill Sunstar on purpose, and they wouldn’t tell him anything else after that. He did everything in his power to break the connection between SunClan and our ancestors hoping it could save Sunstar’s life, even attempting to block the stream completely with rocks. And he was almost successful. Sunstar thought she’d lost StarClan for good and exiled Jaggedstream from ever returning to SunClan. SunClan had no medicine cat to keep her healthy and no way of communicating with StarClan for guidance without the Moonstream, and when she caught a case of greencough that leafbare, nobody knew how to treat her. Jaggedstream had betrayed StarClan, abandoned his leader, and ultimately caused her death. SunClan’s next leader, Flickerstar, managed to clear the rocks blocking the Moonstream and get advice from StarClan, and they told her who to make the next medicine cat, but the damage had already been done. Jaggedstream tries to connect with every new medicine cat we have because he hopes he can trick them into betraying our ancestors the same way he did. He died many, many moons ago, but he’s still not done with his plan. Jaggedstream is an evil, vile cat, and he wants nothing more than to destroy the connection SunClan has with our ancestors.”  


Lightningpaw stared at Honeydawn. Surely the friendly tom he’d met wasn’t that kind of cat, right? That couldn’t be true. Jaggedstream seemed so nice when Lightningpaw talked to him. “He… really tried to destroy StarClan?” Lightningpaw asked quietly.  


“He did. And he’s the perfect example of all the things you should never do as SunClan’s medicine cat,” Honeydawn said. “It’s getting late. You should be going to sleep soon.”  


Lightningpaw nodded and settled down in his nest. “Goodnight Honeydawn,” he said quietly. All the enthusiasm he seemed to have about being a medicine cat seemed to have melted away. ‘Am I really cut out to be a medicine cat?’ he thought, his heart throbbing. All his life he’d wanted nothing more than to help heal sick and injured cats, but what if he ended up hurting them instead? The thought made the pain in his heart intensify. ‘What if I end up like Jaggedstream?’  


The anxious thoughts running through Lightningpaw’s mind eventually died down enough to allow him to sleep.  


When Lightningpaw awoke the next morning, he continued his training with Honeydawn, but she could tell his mind was somewhere else.  


“Is something the matter, Lightningpaw?” she asked. “You’re still shaken up by what Jaggedstream said, aren’t you?”  


Lightningpaw nodded. “Do you think Jaggedstream wanted to hurt his Clan? He seemed like he had good intentions. What if I end up like him? What if I end up hurting my clanmates by accident the way he did?”  


Honeydawn looked into Lightningpaw’s worried gaze. “Jaggedstream did everything a medicine cat is not meant to do,” she said. “He disobeyed StarClan’s orders and he tried to destroy them. Do you have faith in StarClan, Lightningpaw?”  


Lightningpaw nodded.  


“Then you have nothing to worry about. StarClan is what holds us together, you know. There’s nothing to be afraid of so long as you have faith in StarClan,” she said, resting a comforting paw against Lightningpaw’s shoulder. “Now help me finish with these herbs, mouse-brain,” she said with a chuckle.  


The next few weeks flew by for Lightningpaw and he’d almost forgotten about Jaggedstream, and before he knew it, half a moon had passed and he was on his way to his first Gathering. He followed the rest of SunClan’s Gathering patrol: Sootstar, Redsplash, Leopardspots, Yellowtsting, Sweetblossom, Tumblepaw, and of course, Honeydawn and himself. Lightningpaw followed Honeydawn closely.  


“Remember, Tumblepaw, We’re not just here to make friends. We’re representing SunClan to RavineClan and MistClan, so make sure you behave,” he heard Yellowtsting tell his sister as they passed.  


Tumblepaw nodded excitedly. “Wait, does this mean Sootstar will announce me and Lightningpaw becoming apprentices?” she asked, almost bouncing along the path to their Gathering Hollow.  


“Wait and see,” Sootstar answered for Yellowsting, “After all, you won’t pay attention to me, Snailstar, or Dreamstar if you know what we’re going to say, now will you?”  


Lightningpaw chuckled at his sister’s enthusiasm.  


When SunClan reached the Gathering Hollow, RavineClan was already there. Honeydawn immediately recognizes a few of her friends from RavineClan. “Paledapple, Tunneldust! It’s good to see you both again.” The two cats returned the affection.  


Lightningpaw watched Yellowsting and Tumblepaw greet a fluffy grey she-cat and a small tom across the clearing. He wished he could go with them, but he felt like he had to stay with Honeydawn. ‘I’m a medicine cat, after all.’  


“Lightningpaw, why don’t you go socialize a little? You might be a medicine cat, but you’re still an apprentice,” Honeydawn suggested. “Go make some friends.”  


Lightningpaw nodded and padded off to see who his sister was talking to, being greeted by the sound of laughter.  


“Oh, Lightningpaw!” Tumblepaw greeted him as he sat beside her. “This is my littermate I was telling you about, Lightningpaw. Lightningpaw, this is Smokebreeze and Floodpaw from RavineClan,” she introduced them.  


“Hi,” Lightningpaw greeted, “It’s good to finally meet more cats from RavineClan than just Paledapple.”  


Floodpaw smiled. “And it’s good to meet you! Paledapple told me all about the other medicine cats a few weeks ago. I was helping her secure the leak in the medicine hollow a few days after it flooded and she couldn’t stop babbling on about you, Snowspark, and Honeydawn. She really likes her job, doesn’t she?”  


Lightningpaw chuckled. “I think that’s how all medicine cats feel,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine being anything else.”  


Before the cats could socialize much more, MistClan jumped down the steep slope leading to the Gathering Hollow. Lightningpaw recognized Snowspark padding toward where Honeydawn and Paledapple sat, but he didn’t notice the dark grey she-cat walking toward him.  


“Frogpaw, hi!” Floodpaw greeted, “it’s good to see you again.”  


“Hi, Floodpaw!” she greeted. “It’s good to see you too.”  


The cats didn’t get to socialize much after that as Snailstar, Dreamstar, and Sootstar made their way onto the Tall Spruce and began the Gathering.  


“Let’s begin the Gathering!” Dreamstar called from the tall tree’s branches. Lightningpaw made his way back to where the medicine cats sat as everyone got situated. “RavineClan has been doing well. We have two new apprentices here with us tonight, Floodpaw and Cavepaw!” he called.  


Floodpaw!  


Cavepaw!  


Floodpaw!  


Cavepaw!  


Floodpaw beamed at the praise from the other Clans.  


“Prey runs well this leaf bare, but I also have some less than pleasant news to share. Pineflower, one of our best senior warriors, was recently attacked by a fox. He lost his tail and one of his eyes, but Paledapple is doing her best to keep him in good condition. He’s made the decision to retire early to the elder’s den, and RavineClan is very proud of him. He deserves to rest well in the elder’s den.”  


Dreamstar sat down beside Snailstar, gesturing to her to begin speaking next.  


“MistClan brings bad news as well,” Snailstar began. “My deputy, Lakewind, walks with StarClan. She was attacked by a fox, the same fox that attacked Pineflower I believe, and she wasn’t able to survive her wounds. I’ve chosen Purplesight to be my new deputy. MistClan shall miss her. We also have a new warrior sitting vigil at camp, Emberwind, named after his brave mentor.”  


Emberwind!  


Purplesight!  


Emberwind!  


Purplesight!  


Snailstar sat back down, gesturing to Sootstar to begin.  


"SunClan has also been blessed this season. We have two new apprentices: Lightningpaw and Tumblepaw!”  


Lightningpaw!  


Tumblepaw!  


Lightningpaw!  


Tumblepaw!  


“One of our senior warriors, Goldenheart, also made the choice to retire to the elder’s den. He was a strong, compassionate warrior, and SunClan honors his compassion. May he rest easily in the elder’s den.”  
When Sootstar finished speaking, the three leaders all stood up, dismissing the Gathering.  


“That’s our cue, Lightningpaw,” Honeydawn said. “Bye, Paledapple! Bye, Snowspark!”  


When SunClan finally got back to camp, Lightningpaw felt like he’d been walking forever. When he reached the medicine den, he almost immediately fell asleep from the long trip.  


When Lightningpaw stretched and opened his eyes again, he found himself not in his warm, cozy nest, but in the same field he met Jaggedstream in. Why was he back here? Before he could question it too much, Jaggedstream appeared in front of him again.  


“Lightningpaw, you don’t really believe what Honeydawn said about me, do you?” he asked, a tinge of hurt in his voice. “I was trying to do what was right for my Clan.”  


Lightningpaw bristled. “Why would Honeydawn lie to me? She’s my mentor, she’d never betray me like that.”  


“SunClan’s never liked me, Lightningpaw,” Jaggedstream said. “They think I’m a traitor and that I caused Sunstar’s death.”  


“That’s because you did, Jaggedstream,” Lightningpaw snapped. “You tried to destroy StarClan, what else did you think was gonna happen?”  


“You didn’t let me finish,” Jaggedstream growled. “StarClan told me not to do my job. They told me Sunstar was going to get sick, and that I shouldn’t try to heal her. They told me specifically to let her die, that it was her time to go and that I shouldn’t try to help her. They told me that if I did continue to heal her, they’d punish me. StarClan told me to let my leader die, Lightningpaw. Wouldn’t you be upset if someone told you to let Sootstar die?”  


Lightningpaw was silent.  


“I tried to cut StarClan off from my Clan because they proved to me they aren’t good cats. They proved to me they’d rather me let my leader die than try to help her. StarClan doesn’t care about me, they don’t care about you, and they don’t care about our Clan. Notice how I’ve made an effort to talk to you twice and not a single StarClan cat has reached out to you at all?”  


Lightningpaw stared at him for a moment. As much as he hated Jaggedstream a few hours before, he couldn’t fight the feelings of pity and sympathy he felt for the fluffy tom.  


“You… didn’t want to destroy SunClan?” Lightningpaw asked quietly.  


“Of course not. SunClan is my home, why would I ever want to destroy it?” Jaggedstream asked him. “I’m not a bad cat, Lightningpaw. Honeydawn isn’t telling you the whole story.”  


Lightningpaw was silent. He didn’t know who to believe. Either way, he knew he’d need a bit of time to think. ‘I never would’ve thought my first half moon as a medicine cat would be so eventful…’ Lightningpaw thought.  


“Jaggedstream,” He said quietly. “I don’t know who to believe. Give me a few days to think about what you’ve told me. I don’t want to believe StarClan would do something like that…”  


“I understand,” Jaggedstream said, turning on his heels. “I’ll come visit you again in a few days. Make up your mind whether or not you can trust me and I’ll be back soon.”  


Lightningpaw sat in the starry clearing for a while longer in silence. He couldn’t imagine turning his back on StarClan, but… Lightningpaw shuddered at the thought, ‘Has StarClan already turned their back on me?’  


The thought stirred in Lightningpaw’s mind. ‘Have they already abandoned me? Jaggedstream is the only cat I’ve seen so far, and I’ve seen him twice already. Surely if StarClan hasn’t abandoned me, they’ll reach out to me… Right?’  


Before Lightningpaw knew it, he found himself waking up in his nest, the harsh rays of sunlight almost blinding him at dawn. His dream still weighed heavy on his mind, but Honeydawn was already awake.  


“Oh good, you’re up,” she said, “could you come help me sort these herbs, please?”  


“Sure,” Lightningpaw said with a yawn.


End file.
